KAYSVILLE — Roy police arrested a Kaysville firefighter on child sexual enticement charges Tuesday and his employer promptly fired him.

Andrew Austin Leonard, 29, of Clinton, allegedly was engaged in an internet conversation with an undercover Roy Police Department officer posing as a 13-year-old girl on Jan. 7, a common method that investigators use to find sexual predators online. The conversation turned sexual and Leonard allegedly sent photos of himself that police used to identify him, according to a police probable cause statement.

Police went to the Kaysville Fire Department on Tuesday. The affidavit said Leonard told investigators he had communicated inappropriately with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He allegedly admitted to sending photos of himself and asking the supposed girl to send him nude photos of herself.

Officers arrested Leonard and took him to the Weber County Jail, where he was ordered held without bail. On Wednesday, the Weber County Attorney’s Office charged Leonard with enticing a minor and dealing in harmful material to a minor, both third-degree felonies.

The Kaysville Fire Department issued a statement on Wednesday saying Leonard was arrested at the fire station and his employment was later terminated. “Any allegation of a crime against children must be taken seriously. Such allegations are extremely rare, and when one occurs, we take immediate action,” the statement said.

The city provides regular sexual harassment recognition and prevention training to employees, according to the statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone victimized by this senseless atrocity,” the statement said. “These allegations leave everyone in our city shocked and dismayed.”

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